PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

MODULE 4: THE CHALLENGES OF MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE

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Fig. 1. Dado Banatao during his teenage years

"You have to be a surfer. You have to have a surfer attitude.. some days you are on high
because everything is clicking. Other days, nothing is going on.. and so you have to take that
evenly. You have to have a personality that can transcend those transitions. Because
otherwise, you get so depressed.”
- Dado Banatao
Filipino Technology Inventor and Entrepreneur

INTRODUCTION

“You have to have a personality that can transcend those transitions”. The words of
Dado Banatao, “those transitions” pertains to the possible changes in situations that occurs
in our life. Dado Banatao, known as “The Bill Gates” of the Philippines suggests that to be able
to get through the ups and downs of life, we have to have a surfer personality that goes with
the flow of the uncertainties of life. Failure to adapt to changes especially during transitional
stages like adolescence can make you vulnerable to depression and distress.

Learning Targets:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to

 identify ways that help one become capable and responsible adolescent prepared
for adult life; and
 discuss understanding of mental health and psychological well-being to identify
ways to cope with stress during adolescence

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Try This!

True or False. Let’s challenge what you know! Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE
if the statement is incorrect. Write your answers on your journal.
1. __________ The demands of the developmental tasks and the expectations of the society
brought by the adolescence stage can cause teenagers depression.
2. __________ The desire to conform to the trends and influence of the society can result to
insecurities and frustration.
3. __________ One of the best goals a teenager can set for themselves is to aim for physical
perfection.
4. __________ Peer pressure is one of the challenges faced by an adolescent.
5. __________ Teenagers are tend to have a risk-taking behavior and become self-centered
during the stage of adolescence.

LESSON 1: Challenges of an Adolescent

Do This!
Think about the different challenges and problems adolescents like you are facing in
everyday life. What are these challenges that you and other teenagers are facing at home, at
school, in your relationships and other areas of your life? List them down on your journal, and
afterwards, answer the guide questions on the “Explore” section below.

Challenges
of an
Adolescent

Explore!
Let us analyze the causes of the different challenges teenagers like you are facing in
everyday life. Rewrite the list of challenges you have listed on the precious activity on the first
column of the table below. Then, think of the reasons or factors that caused these challenges
to arise on the next column. Copy and answer on your journal.

CHALLENGES CAUSES

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Keep this in Mind!

Dado Banatao was a perfect example of rags to riches. He is a son of a farmer who grew
up in a small barrio in Cagayan where there was no electricity and he only walk barefoot going
to school. When he was in high
school, he felt inferior to his
classmates because most of them
came from the city. His low self-
view of one’s self made him study
and persevere more on his goals.
When he think of himself less than
others, he work twice as hard to
improve his skills. This kind of
attitude made him become a
renowned Filipino inventor and
technology innovator.
[Link]
9/1641453882594513/

Oftentimes, high school students like you when confronted by difficult situations and
intimidating environment become discouraged and frightened in achieving their goals and
ideals. In this stage of adolescence, you will face several challenges. Some of which may include
personal issues, relationship problems, challenging tasks, expectations, peer pressure,
intimidating environment and the like. These challenges no matter how hard they may be can
become an opportunity for personal development just like how Dado Banatao had turned his
difficult experiences in to opportunities to persevere more. In this unit, let us discuss further
these challenges that you may face as an adolescent so that you’ll know what to do when they
occur.

Challenges of Adolescents:
 Household chores, school works and other tasks may stress you out
 You may have high expectations of yourself
 Teenagers like you starts to desire to become physically attractive. Social media and
advertisements may influence your concept of attractiveness and can either have
positive or negative effect on your self-view. Extreme desire for physical perfection can
lead to low self-esteem, insecurities, frustration or psychological conditions like those
who have eating disorders.
 Desires to have alone time and privacy
 Desires to be independent and free from parents who limits you from doing things on
your own.
 You tend to conform to the group that you want to be in, hence, you begin to act, dress
and talk like they do.
 Friends become more significant than others
 You may become vulnerable to peer pressure. Your friends may influence you to try
risky behaviors like drinking alcohol, smoking, drug abuse or engaging to intimate acts
like sex.
 Starts to explore on romantic and intimate relationships

Lesson 2: Dealing with the Challenges of an Adolescent

Do This!
Let’s go deeper in to identifying the challenges you personally experience based on the
discussion in Lesson 1. Copy the table below on your journal. Go deeper in to the detail of
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these challenges by providing the causes of each challenges that applies to you. If the stated
challenge is not applicable to you, write NA and go to the next item.

Challenges Causes
 Household chores, school works and other
tasks may stress you out
 You have high expectations of one’s self

 You start to desire to become physically

attractive
 You desire to have alone time and privacy
 You desire to be independent and free
 You tend to conform to the group that you
want to be in
 Friends become more significant than
others
 Your friends may influence you to try risky
behaviors (drinking alcohol, smoking, drug
abuse, sex)
 Starts to explore on romantic and intimate
relationships
 Others (state here other challenges that is
not stated above)

Explore!
What do you think will be the consequences of the challenges you identified above? Fill-
up the table below on your journal.

Challenges Consequences
 Household chores, school works and other
tasks may stress you out
 You have high expectations of one’s self

 You start to desire to become physically

attractive
 You desire to have alone time and privacy
 You desire to be independent and free
 You tend to conform to the group that you
want to be in
 Friends become more significant than
others
 Your friends may influence you to try risky
behaviors (drinking alcohol, smoking, drug
abuse, sex)
 Starts to explore on romantic and intimate
relationships
 Others (state here other challenges that is
not stated above)

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Keep this in Mind

Teenagers who fail to manage their emotions tend to make impulsive decisions that
often result to undesirable consequences such as rebellion, substance abuse (alcohol, drugs,
etc.), teenage pregnancy and many more. Being aware of the tendencies you may have during
this crucial stage of adolescence can help you manage your personal issues and avoid
unwanted circumstances. The following are some of the theories that can explain adolescents’
behavior and tendencies:

Erick Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory

According to Erick Erickson, adolescents face personal conflict on establishing personal
identity. These explains why you tend to explore on the activities you want to engage in, goals
you want to achieve, career you want to take or the social groups you want to be in. The result
of your exploration will influence the outcome of the identity you will establish for yourself.
You will begin to answer the big question, “Who am I?” and “Who do I want to become?”

Consequences:
 Failure to establish strong self-identity will make you feel confused of who you are, what
you like and what direction you are going to take in the future.
 Consequences may include conformity to the standards of the society (what’s in).
 Your lifestyle, decisions, aspirations can be easily influenced by people that surrounds
you (peer pressure)
 Failure to conform to the standards set by others may result to insecurity, low self-
esteem and depression

Solution:
 Know your actual self (including your strength and weaknesses) and set it as a baseline
in identifying your ideals
 Commit to a specific career path you want to take
 Choose circle of friends or social groups that helps you establish a positive and strong
identity
 Develop a sense of personal style and way of doing things

David Elkind’s Adolescent Egocentrism Theory

Adolescents have the tendency to become so self-centered that they only see the world
based on their own perspectives. David Elkind proposes two concepts under this theory.

a. Personal Fable
Teens tend to believe that they are so unique and special, or, they are on the contrary,
less important and awful as compared to others.

Thistheory characterizes adolescence as stage where you as a teen may tend to:
 become highly critical of others
 become unwilling to accept criticisms
 think that only you feel extreme and diverse emotions and that no one can understand
you
 become aggressive, stubborn, argumentative or rebellious
 think that you are so special that you believe you can be above rules and law
 believe that nothing bad can happen to you as a result of your risk-taking behaviors
(such as irresponsible sexual behavior, use of alcohol and drugs, driving without
protective gears or license and/or under influence of intoxicating substance

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b. Imaginary Audience
Ever feel like every person that surrounds you is looking at you and are evaluating how
you behave and act? According to David Elkind, teens tend to believe that they are always the
center of attention of the people surrounding them. As a result, teens tend to:
 seek privacy
 resistant to reveal their thoughts and feelings because of fear to be judged or criticized
 create imaginary audience whom they feel are always watching over their appearance
actions, and behaviors thus making them so self-conscious

Dealing with your tendencies as a teenager

 Take time to assess your thoughts and feelings through writing. Upon writing your
experiences for the day, look deeply in to your writings and assess objectively the kind
of personality you have. Think about how you can improve the way you feel and act.
Consider your tendencies as a teenager and do not let them overcome you.
 Allot time sitting in silence. A 10-15 minutes a day of just observing your how you think
can help you assess your thought patterns to be able to identify ways of transforming
them for the better.
 Always communicate your feelings to someone you trusted (parents, sibling, a good
friend, teacher or a counselor) who will give you a good advice on your tendencies and
behaviors.
 When you experience any of the abovementioned tendencies of a teenager, remind
yourself that you are more than these tendencies and that you can rise up from them
as a responsible young adult. The adolescent stage is just temporary and shall pass in
time.
 Recognize your limitations. Ask questions if necessary. Accept criticisms with a clear
mind and do not attached feelings on the opinions of others.
 Deal with negativities calmly. Refrain from being too aggressive. Apologize if necessary
and be trustworthy. Honor yourself and others as well.
 Engage yourself to worthwhile activities you love. Sing, dance, exercise, write, read
books, take a walk, converse with your loved ones, etc.

Apply what you have learned!

Assess yourself:
1. If you are your parent, would you allow yourself to live separately on your own? Why
or why not?
2. List down some of the potential tendencies and consequences you may face on living
on your own?
3. What rules should you set for yourself if ever?

Assess What You Have Learned

Journal Writing:
Talking to My Younger Me Dialogue
Imagine you are your ideal self in the future. You have travelled in the past to
remind your present self of the actions you have to do to be able to fulfill the bright future
ahead of you. What are you going to say to your younger you? Create a dialogue of your
conversation with your younger you and discuss the advice you want give him/her.

You will be graded based on the following criteria:

 Depth of response – 5pts
 Connection to experiences - 5pts
 Connection to the lesson - 5pts
Total 15 pts

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Self-check!
Answer the following questions for your reflection.
Reflect

Today I have learned that ________________________________________________________.

I find __________________________ the most interesting because ______________________.

References

Adolescence, C. D. (n.d.). Retrieved from Lifespan Development:

[Link]
during-adolescence/
Cherry, K. (2019, December 27). Identity vs. Role Confusion in Psychosocial Stage 5. Retrieved from
Verywell Mind: [Link]
Fraser-Thill, R. (2020, June 9). How a Personal Fable Is Defined and Why It Can Lead to Risk-Taking.
Retrieved from VeryWell Family: [Link]
and-origins-3287995
Jack, M. S. (1989, October 4). Personal fable: a potential explanation for risk-taking behavior in
adolescents. Retrieved from National Library of Medicine:
[Link]
McLeod, S. (2018). Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development. Retrieved from Simply
Psychology: [Link]
Personal Developent Teacher's Guide First Edition. (2016). Department of Education.
Science, P. (2017, August 16). Retrieved from Facebook:
[Link]
Yumul, J. (2016, July 5). How a Personal Fable Is Defined and Why It Can Lead to Risk-Taking.
Retrieved from ABS-CBN News: How a Personal Fable Is Defined and Why It Can Lead to
Risk-Taking

THE AUTHOR

MACY ELARDE-FRESNOZA is a Master Teacher I from

Meycauayan National High School. She graduated Bachelor in
Physical Education at Polytechnic University of the
Philippines – Manila. She finished her master’s degree
program, Master of Arts in Education with Specialization in
Physical Education at Philippine Normal University – Manila.
At present, she is pursuing her doctoral degree program, PhD
in Curriculum and Instruction in the same university. She
served as a Content Consultant for Physical Education and
Health subjects at Quipper International, Ltd. and is serving
as a writer and validator for the DepEd Special Program for
Sports Lesson Exemplars and DepEd Sports Manual. She is a
Registered Yoga Teacher, an American College of Sports
Medicine Certified Clinical Fitness Professional and an
International Cheer Union Accredited Performance Cheer
Judge.